Among the best limited-overs pairs of all time, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly batted in 176 ODI partnerships throughout the course of their careers. During the course of their careers, they scored 8227 runs as a pair at a brilliant average of 47.55. Now, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has opined that the duo could have added some 4000 ODI runs with the current ODI rules back in their days.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday posted the pair’s stats on their official Twitter handle with the caption, “No other pair has crossed even 6,000 runs together in ODIs.”

The Master Blaster took note of the stats and asked his former opening partner how many more runs they would have scored with the current rules of ODI cricket which not only allows 2 new balls but also allows fielding team to put only 4 fielders outside the circle after the first powerplay (end of 10th over) until the 40th over.

“This brings back wonderful memories Dadi. How many more do you think we would’ve been able to score with the restriction of four fielders outside the ring and two new balls?” tweeted Tendulkar.

This brings back wonderful memories Dadi.

How many more do you think we would’ve been able to score with the restriction of 4 fielders outside the ring and 2 new balls? 😉@SGanguly99 @ICC https://t.co/vPlYi5V3mo

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) May 12, 2020

Meanwhile, the Prince of Calcutta was quick to respond to his former teammate’s query as he said, “Another 4000 or so…2 new balls…wow…sounds like a cover drive flying to the boundary in the first over of the game…for the remaining 50 overs.”

Another 4000 or so ..2 new balls..wow .. sounds like a cover drive flying to the boundary in the first over of the game.. for the remaining 50 overs 💪😊..@ICC @sachin_rt https://t.co/rJOaQpg3at

— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) May 12, 2020

Tendulkar has always opposed the use of 2-new balls in an ODI inning.

“Having 2 new balls in one-day cricket is a perfect recipe for disaster as each ball is not given the time to get old enough to reverse. We haven’t seen reverse swing, an integral part of the death overs, for a long time,” Tendulkar had said way back in 2018.

(With quotes and inputs from IANS)